Mexico: 6 men confess to rapes of Spanish tourists

Feb. 14, 2013
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Mexican state police stand at a roadblock Feb. 5 that was set up after masked armed men broke into a beach home, raping six Spanish tourists who had rented the house in Acapulco, Mexico. / Bernandino Hernandez, AP

by USA TODAY

by USA TODAY

ACAPULCO, Mexico (AP) - Six men detained in the recent rape of six Spanish tourists in Acapulco have confessed to the crimes, authorities said Wednesday.

Attorney General Jesus Murillo Karam said prosecutors have gathered evidence against another suspect in the attack, which has further tainted the reputation of the Pacific resort, already damaged by gruesome beheadings and mutilations by drug cartels. The seventh suspect remains at large.

The six men gave a complete recount of the Feb. 4 attacks, which took place in a beach house on the outskirts of Acapulco where 12 Spanish tourists and a Mexican woman were staying, Murillo Karam told reporters.

"We have those six suspects, who have confessed," he said. "I can tell you with all seriousness that this case has been solved."

The men range in ages from 16 to 30. Murillo Karam said there is "plenty of evidence" of their role in the attack.

He also said there are eight more men in custody suspected in a separate rape attack last November.

When the detentions for the attack on the Spaniards were announced, family members of the suspects protested that they were innocent and simply scapegoats. About 40 people briefly blocked the road to Acapulco's airport to demand their release.

Mexican human rights groups have often questioned the confessions announced by authorities, arguing that they are sometimes extracted by force and have little value.

But Guerrero Gov. Angel Aguirre said that authorities are carrying out the investigation in this case professionally.

"It was never intended to take to jail scapegoats or innocent people in a case as delicate as this one," Aguirre said. "We are working with a high degree of responsibility and with efficiency to erase this black chapter in the history of our port of Acapulco."